Colour has the power to change the look and feel of a room. With so many colours of tiles available, we know it can be a hard choice, so we've put together some design tips for deciding on the colour of your floor tiles and wall tiles:

Colours

• Never use more than three different shades in one room. It will look cluttered and overcrowded.
• Colours will be affected by other colours and some colours will distort others. Take tile samples into the room and see how they look with the other colours already in place.
• Don't use strong colours on both the wall and the floor at the same time.
• Colours on the blue and green side of the colour wheel are cool colours.
• Colours on the red and orange side of the colour wheel are warm colours.
• Neutral colours include beiges, whites, blacks and greys.

Using Colour

• Cool coloured tiles can make a room look bigger.
• Warm coloured tiles can make a room's walls seem much closer in.
• To create space, use cool colours in large tile sizes. The larger the tile, the greater the impression of space. Use large tiles in cool colours to brighten up a small dark area.

Lighting Considerations

• Different lighting - morning, afternoon, direct, halogen, fluorescent - can give your floor and wall tiles and colours a different look. You'll also need to consider the direction your room faces since light from the North, South, East and West can be very different.
• Look at the angle you will be laying your tiles on i.e. against the wall. Depending on the light direction, they may look lighter or darker.

There is no such thing as right and wrong when it comes to designing your room. You'll know when you walk into a room that if it startles you or something sticks out, then it's not working for you. Just remember that your room should look good and match your tastes.

Need more help?

View our tile galleries for design inspiration.

• Residential Interior
• Residential Exterior
• Commercial Interior
• Commercial Exterior

If you need help putting the right look together for your place, our design team can help turn your dreams into reality. Its a free service when you purchase your tiles from us, whether for a commercial or residential property.

The Tile Centre Dunedin team recommends customers bring in samples of the room you are planning to tile so that they can help choose a floor tile or wall tile that compliments that room.

Some items you could bring in are:

• Existing or new curtain/blind sample
• Carpet / matt samples or wall
• Bench top or cabinet colours. 

You can then take home the chosen tile samples and see how the tiles will look in your home interior with lighting, furniture and fixtures.

Ceramic tiles are a great option because they are permanent and can suit every taste from rustic to exotic. Being durable you can move furniture around and you won't have a problem with tearing or marking. They are a classy look and are easy to clean with an option of underfloor heating which is warm and inviting, especially in our cooler Dunedin climate.